"Not talking?"
Cipher's voice carried a hint of amusement, her tone rising slightly as if she were enjoying the other's current wretched state. The middle-aged man's lips trembled, but it was as if he were being strangled; despite his face being as pale as paper, he couldn't force out a single syllable.
Cold sweat slid down his temples, staining his expensive collar with dark marks.
Seeing the man's soul-shaken appearance, Cipher felt a sudden wave of boredom. She let out a cold snort and looked away from his face.
"Since you're staying quiet..." As she spoke, she used her fingers—painted with gold nail polish—to carelessly tap the spine of the dagger, producing soft, rhythmic clicks. "Then how about I perform for you one more time?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she raised the dagger again, slowly moving it toward the middle-aged man's neck once more.
The middle-aged man's pupils constricted sharply. He could clearly feel the icy killing intent radiating from the blade. Although the blade moved slowly—slowly enough that any normal person could dodge it—his intuition told him that if he dared to move an inch, the edge would transform into a bolt of silver lightning and mercilessly slit his throat.
A shadow of death wound around him like something physical, tightening until he could barely breathe.
"No... no! There's no need! Truly, no need!"
Faced with this suffocating sensation, he broke. His legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the floor with a thud. His hands waved wildly in front of him as if trying to disperse the invisible threat of death. He shook his head desperately in terror, beads of sweat the size of beans crashing to the ground and leaving small, wet stains.
"Hmph." Cipher let out a disdainful snort from her nose. With a flick of her wrist, the dagger spun nimbly around her fingertips and then vanished from her hand, as if it had never existed in the first place.
"So..." She looked down at the middle-aged man slumped on the floor, a mocking curve hooking her lips. "Your meaning is that my strength is very great?"
"Yes! Yes! I was blind! I deserve to die!" The middle-aged man screamed incoherently as if grabbing a life-saving straw, his voice cracking from extreme terror. "Your strength... is very great! Very, very great! I was blind to offend you!"
As he spoke, he stared fixedly at Cipher with pleading eyes, terrified that the dreadful dagger would flash out again.
"Good." Cipher nodded with satisfaction.
"Since you admit that being strong enough allows one to hear... then let me prove it..." She intentionally drew out her words, her eyes flashing with a cat-and-mouse playfulness. "With 'my' level of strength, can I hear those 'whispers' you said in the first-class cabin?"
After speaking, she raised her slender fingers, lifting them one by one. With each raised finger, she clearly repeated a line of dialogue that had interested her. Once she finished, she let her gaze fall back on him, a playful smile curving her lips:
"So, now... have I successfully proven that the stronger one's power is, the stronger one's hearing becomes?"
Her voice was soft, yet it carried an unquestionable weight.
The middle-aged man's head nodded frantically like a mortar. Absolute terror had seized him; at this moment, his only thought was to obey—obey this calamity before him, no matter what she wanted.
However, at the exact moment his nodding reached its peak—
"What are you nodding for! Speak!" Cipher's face suddenly darkened. Her smile instantly froze into frost, and the previous playfulness vanished without a trace, replaced by a bone-chilling cold. "I want to hear you admit it with your own mouth!"
"Yes, yes, yes! You proved it! Completely proven! Your strength is extraordinary, your hearing is invincible!"
The middle-aged man was scared out of his wits by this sudden change of face. He practically shrieked the words, his voice shaking beyond recognition.
"Excellent." A satisfied expression reappeared on Cipher's face, as if the previous coldness was merely an illusion.
Then, she casually took out a Terminal that was flashing with a "Recording" icon on the screen. She stepped forward, heading straight for Lin Mingyu, who had long since been standing there agape. Upon reaching him, Cipher handed the Terminal to Lin Mingyu.
"Ms. Cipher... you, you are..."
Looking at the Terminal held out before him, Lin Mingyu had lost all the flippant posture he had during their first meeting. He subconsciously took half a step back, his back nearly pressing against the cold wall. His Adam's apple bobbed nervously as even his form of address changed from the flirty "Miss Cifera" to a reverent "Ms. Cipher."
He asked cautiously, his gaze shifting between the Terminal and Cipher's face. Having personally witnessed his colleague end up in this state just for saying a few things that seemed inconsequential to him, he now felt a chill rushing from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
"It's nothing." Cipher's tone was flat. "It's just that every word this gentleman said—including his admission that my strength is great, as well as the recording of my 'proving' process," she specifically emphasized those two words, "is all in here."
With a light flick of her wrist, the Terminal flew accurately toward Lin Mingyu.
Lin Mingyu caught it in a scramble. Then, he looked down at the screen and quickly glanced at his colleague who was completely slumped on the ground.
"This person," Cipher's voice carried a hint of obvious disgust as her gaze swept over the figure on the floor, "makes me very unhappy."
As she spoke, her focus refocused on Lin Mingyu's face.
"Do you know what should be done?"
Lin Mingyu was stunned for a moment, then he abruptly lowered his head to look at the middle-aged man. Immediately after, he looked up at Cipher, his eyes instantly flashing with wild joy.
"Rest assured, Ms. Cipher!" Lin Mingyu straightened his back, his voice firm. "I will definitely give you a satisfactory result! I'll resolve this matter completely!"
Having said that, he immediately looked down and operated the Terminal in his hand, quickly dialing a number. His tone instantly switched to a professional, capable one:
"Hello? Legal Department? Lawyer Cheng? It's Lin Mingyu! Listen, I have a heavyweight case here! It involves malicious slander and insults against an A rank combatant! The victim is someone from Genesis Tech!"
He spoke rapidly and forcefully.
"..."
"It's absolutely true! The recorded evidence is right in my hands! How could I joke about something like this!" he emphasized. Then, he plastered on his most humble smile and turned toward Cipher, his tone becoming incredibly respectful. "Ms. Cipher, I wonder if you are free to deign to accompany me to the Apex Entertainment branch later? Some procedures might require your personal confirmation."
Cipher carelessly brushed a strand of hair by her ear, her eyes flashing with a hint of interest.
"Sure, I happen to have nothing to do right now."
Having received an affirmative answer, Lin Mingyu acted as if he had been given a shot of adrenaline. He immediately spoke into the Terminal with absolute decisiveness:
"Did you hear that? The powerhouse has agreed! Prepare the reception immediately! I'm transmitting the recording data right now..."
"Lin Mingyu! What the hell are you doing?!" Upon hearing his words, the middle-aged man on the ground suddenly snapped awake. Ignoring the fact that Cipher was standing right there, he scrambled to crawl up, his eyes bloodshot and filled with an unbelievable rage as he glared at Lin Mingyu.
"I personally promoted you! I let you become a department manager five years early! I've treated you well! Is this how you repay me?! You ungrateful white-eyed wolf!"
He roared, spittle flying.
"Heh," a look of extreme sarcasm and contempt appeared on Lin Mingyu's face. He even took a step forward, looking down at the middle-aged man. "Promoted me? Treated me well? Stop fucking pretending to be a good person! I climbed to this position myself. If you really had the ability, why have you stayed in this same spot for over twenty years..."
"Enough." At this point, Cipher interrupted him impatiently, her brows slightly furrowed. "I have no interest in hearing about the grudges and loves between you two."
Her gaze swept over the agitated middle-aged man and the indignant Lin Mingyu, her eyes flashing with annoyance.
"If you want to 'reminisce about old ties' that badly, then this recording," she looked at the Terminal in Lin Mingyu's hand, "I'll give it to someone else to handle."
"No! It'll be done right away! Ms. Cipher, please wait a moment! I'll handle it immediately!" Lin Mingyu felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, and cold sweat instantly seeped out. He hurriedly barked a few more orders into the Terminal before abruptly cutting the communication.
After that, he didn't dare look at the middle-aged man again. He tried his best to stand straight and offered Cipher a fawning smile.
Soon, only the middle-aged man's desperate and futile insults echoed in the hallway. Lin Mingyu turned a deaf ear, only nervously watching Cipher's expression.
Before long, a low maglev engine sound approached from outside. A black luxury maglev car with smooth lines and an air of opulence glided silently to a halt by the roadside next to Lin Mingyu.
The car door slid upward, and a capable-looking young man wearing a sharp deep-gray lawyer's robe and gold-rimmed glasses stepped out of the car. His gaze was sharp, and with just one sweep of the scene combined with the information he had received, he immediately identified the roles everyone represented.
"Manager Lin." He nodded slightly to Lin Mingyu, his voice steady without any emotional fluctuation. Then, he turned to the figure on the ground, his tone flat: "Is this the party suspected of malicious slander, insulting an A rank powerhouse, and attempting to deny it?"
"That's him." Lin Mingyu nodded hurriedly, then respectfully stepped aside to gesture toward Cipher. "And this is our distinguished guest from Genesis Tech, Ms. Cipher."
"Understood." The lawyer first bowed slightly toward Cipher. Then, he pulled a pair of shimmering silver magnetic restraint bracelets from the side pocket of his briefcase and walked toward the middle-aged man with steady steps.
"I... I am a department manager of Apex Entertainment! I've worked for the company for over thirty years!" The middle-aged man screamed, struggling as if grabbing his final straw. "You... you would arrest me for an outsider! An outsider from another company?! This is betraying the company! I'm going to sue you!"
His voice was warped by terror and rage.
But the lawyer's footsteps didn't even pause. He stood before the middle-aged man with an expressionless face and stated clearly:
"Apex Entertainment and Genesis Tech share a deep strategic partnership. Protecting the legal rights of Genesis Tech's honored guests and cracking down on malicious slander against our partners is essential for consolidating bilateral cooperation and reflecting our spirit of contract." As he spoke, he neatly pressed the switch on the restraint bracelets. With a crisp click, the silver buckles accurately locked the middle-aged man's trembling wrists. "This has nothing to do with betrayal, sir. This is executing the cooperative contract between companies."
As the words fell, he exerted a bit of force with his arm, dragging the still futilely struggling middle-aged man from the floor and unceremoniously stuffing him into the backseat of the maglev car.
"Ms. Cipher, please." Lin Mingyu took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steady. He bowed slightly and made an inviting gesture toward Cipher, pointing to the open car door on the other side.
Cipher didn't answer immediately. She took one last look at the maglev car carrying the middle-aged man as it disappeared around the street corner, an unfathomable curve crossing her lips. Only then did she retract her gaze and give Lin Mingyu a casual nod.
"Mm, let's go."
Then, she sat in the car. Lin Mingyu felt a sense of relief and hurriedly jogged around to the other side, sitting inside cautiously. The door closed, isolating the noise of the outside world, and the car began to drive toward Apex Entertainment.
...
Big Sis, what exactly are you doing?
In the car, a confused voice suddenly appeared in the mind of the resting Cipher. This voice belonged to Bartholos.
Building a persona, of course. A persona of being fickle and temperamental, Cipher replied, glancing at Bartholos—who was disguised as a Flipping Coin.
Eh? Bartholos seemed unable to comprehend. Wh... why do that?
To go take a look at Apex Entertainment ahead of time, obviously, Cipher replied flatly.
Didn't they say that once I'm discovered, they'll cancel an employee's KPI for the year? So they must have made some arrangements there.
Although I'm not afraid of those arrangements, since I happened to run into mid-level management from Apex Entertainment so coincidentally, I decided to take this chance to scout them out.
But if I go directly, even if I show the badge, I might be suspected. So I might as well strike first and establish a persona of a powerhouse who gets angry over small matters, making them too afraid to question me.
Because once they question me, they might pay a price like that middle-aged man. It's called 'killing a chicken to warn the monkeys.'
Oh~ I see. Bartholos nodded thoughtfully. Then what if they still want to check your identity?
Then I'll just barge in, Cipher replied nonchalantly.
Eh? Bartholos was a bit dazed again. Then wouldn't everything just now be useless?
How is it useless? A curve hooked Cipher's lips. Even if that middle-aged man escapes punishment because my identity is discovered, those two will definitely become sworn enemies from now on.
Two department managers viewing each other as mortal enemies... I've already started to get curious about how that middle-aged man will take revenge on that guy Lin Mingyu.
Uh... After hearing Cipher's words, Bartholos was momentarily speechless. Such a wicked taste, Big Sis.
It can't be helped. Cipher sighed. After all, we don't have to carry any missions right now, and since we have such long lifespans, we always have to find more fun.